2006年VOA标准英语-International Court Wants Uganda Rebel Leader D

By Catherine Maddux
Washington
05 July 2006

The International Criminal Court says its arrest warrant for the leader of the Uganda's rebel Lord's Resistance Army remains¹ in place, despite an offer of amnesty made by Ugandan government.

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Joseph Kony (file photo) 
  
In what appears to be a reversal of policy, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has promised amnesty for rebel leader Joseph Kony if peace talks set for next week go well.

On Tuesday, Kony - who has waged nearly two decades of brutal² war in northern Uganda - was also promised a presidential pardon if he abandons what Mr. Museveni called "terrorism."

But the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants last year against Kony and five top associates on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Court Spokesman Ernest Sagaga says the arrest warrants will remain in place, despite the latest developments.

"I think there are two things that one has to distinguish," said Ernest Sagaga. "There is a peace process between Ugandans and a judicial³ process before the ICC [the International Criminal Court]. Now, the ICC has no part to play in the peace process. And therefore I cannot comment; not on the context, not on the details on the peace process that is about to start among Ugandans."

But there has been criticism among observers, diplomats⁴, and some Ugandans that the warrants set back efforts to get peace talks going by sending the rebel leaders on the run.

ICC spokesman Sagaga denies the courts' actions hurt prospects⁵ for a peace settlement.

"But I think if what you look at what the court has done ever since the prosecutor⁶ began the investigation⁷ into Uganda, the court has been and is very much mindful of the context in Uganda," he said. "And I think that every effort has been made to reach out to all players in that country. However, the only thing we can do is what is allowed under the mandate⁸ of the court. "

A researcher for the International Crisis Group in Washington, Colin-Thomas Jensen, says this most recent attempt to end the war in northern Uganda is in its early stages and that very little is known about the will of Kony or President Museveni to settle the conflict. He says it makes sense the ICC would maintain its position to arrest Uganda's alleged⁹ war criminals.

But Thomas-Jensen says one of the biggest problems for the court is that its arrest warrants were issued in a vacuum.

"That is, there was very little ground work put into exactly how those warrants were going to be executed," said Colin-Thomas Jensen. "Now, that is not the fault of the court. The court is a mechanism¹⁰ for dispensing¹¹ justice. It does not have a special forces unit that can nab its indictees. It relies on its supporters and the will of the international community. As we saw in Uganda, the warrants were issued and yet there was very little response or plan from the international community on how those warrants were be executed."

Thomas-Jensen says it is too early to know why the Museveni government suddenly decided¹² to offer amnesty after vowing¹³ to cooperate with the ICC.

"His motivations to many people who follow the situation are not quite clear yet," he said. "But certainly there is a lot of public pressure in northern Uganda to deal with LRA and the war and there is a lot of pressure from the government of southern Sudan. The southern Sudanese in their visits with the U.S. government have made very clear that dealing¹⁴ the LRA is a serious problem and is undermining the Comprehensive Peace Agreement [with Khartoum]. And so mild pressure from the U.S. and those pressures have been pushing him towards coming up with a solution; something that can actually end the conflict."

There may also be a third party solution whereby Kony would agree to end the war and be transferred to a country that has not signed onto the International Criminal Court.

But as the two sides prepare for next week's talks - mediated¹⁵ by the government of southern Sudan - the 19-year war in northern Uganda is not over. More than one million northern Ugandans remain displaced and living in camps and children live in fear of rebel abduction.

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

3 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

4 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

6 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

7 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

8 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

9 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

10 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

11 dispensing   

v.分配( dispense的现在分词 )；施与；配（药）

参考例句：

• A dispensing optician supplies glasses, but doesn't test your eyes. 配镜师为你提供眼镜，但不检查眼睛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The firm has been dispensing ointments. 本公司配制药膏。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

13 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

14 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

15 mediated   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• He mediated in the quarrel between the two boys. 他调解两个孩子之间的争吵。
• The government mediated between the workers and the employers. 政府在工人与雇主间搞调和。